Schalke relegated to Bundesliga 2 after defeat to Arminia Bielefeld
Schalke have been relegated from the Bundesliga for the first time since 1988 following their 1-0 defeat to Arminia Bielefeld on Matchday 30.
The result marked the Royal Blues' 21st loss of the current campaign and leaves them bottom of the Bundesliga standings with just 13 points on the board. As such, they are 13 adrift of Hertha Berlin, who currently occupy the relegation play-off spot, meaning it is no longer possible for Dimitrios Grammozis's side to avoid the drop.
This is just the fourth time Schalke have been relegated from the top-flight in their history, following on from 1981, 1983 and 1988, since which point they have been in the Bundesliga without interruption.
A founding member of the league in 1963, they have only spent five seasons in Bundesliga 2, and even finished as runners-up to Bayern Munich as recently as the 2017/18 season.
The current campaign got off to a bad start, however, with an 8-0 thumping away to Bayern. Grammozis is the team's fifth head coach in 2020/21, following David Wagner, Manuel Baum, Huub Stevens and Christian Gross. Several experienced players were recruited during the winter transfer window in a bid to help turn the tide, including Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Sead Kolasinac and Shkodran Mustafi, but just two wins since the start of the year were not enough to secure survival.
Related news
Džeko suffers shoulder injury
The Bosnia and Herzegovina captain didn't partake in his country's penalty shoot-out as they overcame Italy to book their place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
BL2's March Goal of the Month!
Greuther Fürth’s Noel Futkeu was your pick of the bunch from a 10-goal shortlist. Relive it again here!
Hannover eye automatic promotion place
The Reds could go level on points with leaders Schalke with a win over second-placed Elversberg...